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Our 2007-2008 Graduate Student roster is: Sarah Flynn
William Grice
Tracy Miller
Crystal Woods
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The general requirements for graduate degrees at Vanderbilt University appear in the Bulletin and the Regulations of the Graduate School. This page contains information particular to the Department of Classical Studies.
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Our Department of Classical Studies offers a selective M.A. program that provides a solid basis for either of two important goals in the field of Classics. First, we train promising M.A. candidates who aspire to apply to and enter a nationally ranked Ph.D. program in Classical Languages or in other recognized fields of Classics, such as Ancient History and Classical Art and Archaeology. We also train M.A. candidates who aspire to become effective teachers of Latin and/or Greek. The program, as broadly defined, involves a minimum of 36 hours and a maximum of 48 hours of coursework over a two-year period. During the two years, the Classics M.A. student is also required to pass proficiency examinations in Greek and Latin and either proficiency examinations or course requirements in history and art. The student must also demonstrate reasonable proficiency in reading Classical scholarship in German or French, or in another Romance language (e.g., Italian or Spanish). Applicants should be able to read both Latin and Greek, though not necessarily both at the same level of proficiency, and they also should have completed an elementary course in German, French, or another Romance language. Every M.A. student is also required to present a Master's Paper during the fourth semester.
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On entering, every student takes diagnostic examinations in Greek and Latin prose and poetry. The examinations are not graded and are intended only for the determination of a student's proficiency in the languages at the time of matriculation and for placement in courses. The examinations test familiarity with language and with scansion.
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Each semester each student takes at least three and no more than four courses for credit. It is expected that every student will take both seminars regularly offered in Greek and Latin each semester. The proficiency examinations in Greek and Latin are made up of passages taken from the M.A. reading lists. The two examinations test familiarity with language and scansion. The proficiency examinations are offered regularly over the course of the M.A. program.
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The requirements for history and for art are fulfilled either by taking two courses in each area (history: Classics 208 or 209 and 212 or 213; art: Classics 204 or 205 and 206) or by examination. In order to fulfill the requirement with coursework, a student must earn a B+ or better in each of the two courses in the given areas. If the student chooses to fulfill the requirement with an examination, the examination of two hours' length is taken at the very beginning of the fourth semester. One re-take of each examination is allowed.
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In the fourth semester every student gives to faculty and graduate students an oral presentation based on a Master's Paper, which is a reworking and expansion of a paper that has been written as part of the Classics M.A. program. Before presentation, the written Master's Paper will first be approved by the professor of the seminar in which the paper originated. The final public presentation will include questions from the faculty.
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 A distinguished feature of Vanderbilt's M.A. program in Classics is the anticipation that in the summer following the first year in residence, M.A. candidates will study in the Mediterranean. Students in good standing are urged to apply for the summer programs offered by the American School of Classical Studies in Athens (ASCSA) and the American Academy in Rome (AAR), or to a comparable academic Classics program as a secondary alternative. To qualify for a secondary alternative, M.A. students must first apply to both the ASCSA and the AAR, in the hope of being accepted into at least one of these two summer programs. They also generally receive Rankin Fellowship funding from the Department to support this study abroad.
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Because students pursuing a graduate degree in Classics normally do so with aims that include teaching Latin, Greek, or Classics, our Department makes every effort to provide each student with some teaching experience. In the second year of residence, an M.A. candidate may expect to gain experience as a teaching assistant, primarily as an instructor in an elementary Latin section or, secondarily, as an assistant in a large Classics, Greek, or Latin course.
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Successful students in our Classics M.A. program are encouraged to pursue Classics Ph.D. studies in a nationally ranked doctoral program that is well positioned to help its Classics doctoral recipients to find a rewarding professional appointment. Faculty in our Department are eager to support this aspiration, such as by advising the student about which Classics Ph.D. programs are best suited to his or her interests, and by doing their best to facilitate the student's successful entry into such a doctoral program.
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If they so choose, Classics M.A. students with interdisciplinary interests are also welcome to apply for, and may be accepted into, an interdisciplinary Ph.D. program at Vanderbilt that promotes further graduate study in Classics, such as History, Religious Studies, Greek Philosophy, English, and Art History.
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Financial Aid
All students accepted into the two-year Classics M.A. program are guaranteed generous funding for two years, which includes fellowship stipends, in addition to tuition and health insurance. The fellowships range from $16,000 to $20,500 and higher, depending on the merits of the applicant. Second-year teaching assistantships are also available.
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Admission All requests for admission and financial aid are evaluated by the department. Applicants should present an undergraduate record demonstrating competence in the Classical languages, and some study of German, French or another Romance language. Applicants must present scores on the Graduate Record Examination, along with letters of recommendation from the teachers best able to evaluate the student's work in Classical Studies. Although applications for admission will be accepted at any time, all applications for financial aid, together with supporting documents, must be received by 15 January. For application forms and additional information, see the Vanderbilt University Graduate School Web site, www.vanderbilt.edu/gradschool.
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University Fellowships University fellowships and teaching assistantships are available for all of the above programs, providing stipends in addition to tuition and health insurance. Also available for applicants of exceptional achievement and high promise are Harold Stirling Vanderbilt Graduate Scholarships, Arts and Science Dean's Scholarships, and University Graduate Fellowships. The Graduate School also awards Provost's Graduate Fellowships to outstanding Ph.D. students from under-represented groups who intend to teach at the college or university level.
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Departmental Fellowships Thanks to a bequest from the estate of Edwin Moore Rankin, the department offers flexible Rankin Fellowships to highly qualified and promising candidates. In addition, Rankin and Piant Scholarships are available for students in the program to study in Athens or Rome. Funded trips for summer study abroad are a regular part of our M.A. program.
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For more information:
Kathy L. Gaca
Department of Classical Studies
VU Station B, #351740
2301 Vanderbilt Place
Nashville, TN 37235-1740
dgs.classics@vanderbilt.edu
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